A dramatic surveillance tape played in court yesterday showed the huge fireball and white light that was part of the 2008 propane plant explosion.

Firefighters work at the scene of Sunrise Propane explosion on Aug. 10, 2008.

By:Valerie HauchStaff Reporter, Published on Tue Jan 31 2012

Video of the huge fireball that appeared in a Downsview sky shortly before 4 a.m. on Aug. 10, 2008 and was followed by fiery flames and a blinding white light was shown in a Toronto courtroom Tuesday, the second day of an ongoing trial involving Sunrise Propane and two of its directors.

The footage was captured on a surveillance tape from a FedEx location near Sunrise Propane, which faces numerous charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and Environment Protection Act (EPA) related to the explosion and fire from four years ago. It was a catastrophe which claimed the life of Sunrise employee Parminder Singh Saini, 25 and lead to the evacuation of thousands who lived nearby and damaged homes and businesses.

James Bennett, an engineer with the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office who was part of a team which investigated the fire and explosion at the Sunrise site, told the court that there was only one source there at the time that could have set off such a massive explosion. He said a tanker, called Unit 861, which was involved in a transfer of propane to another tanker, called Unit One, was the “only source that had enough propane.’’

A propane leak caused a vapour cloud which ignited, said Bennett.

The leak itself was probably caused by some sort of failure in the hose linking the two tankers or by a malfunction in a Unit 861 pump, he said.

Bennett confirmed to defence lawyer Leo Adler that what he said in his report on the explosion two years ago remained true — the fire marshal investigation could not determine the cause of the ignition.

Bennett said the fire and explosion at the Sunrise site was classified as “accidental.’’

The company and two of its directors, Shay Ben-Moshe and Valery Belahov, have pled not guilty to all of the charges, which include failing to providing sufficient training and supervision and failing to protect the health and safety of Saini, who worked as an attendant on Friday and Saturday nights, filling taxi and limousine propane cylinders.

The EPA charges allege that Sunrise discharged contaminant and breached orders from the province to clean up the mess from the explosion and fire at the site, near Keele St. and Wilson Ave.

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